Disagreement

Rick can see the fear in Jess' eyes and knows to take things slowly. It had been a while since they'd brought in anyone like this, but he knew well enough that it wasn't her fault, and she needed understanding more than anything else. "Nice to meet you, Jess." His voice is warm and calming. "If you want to just come on in here and sit down on that table over there, we can just take a quick glance at ya."

He offers her a smile. "Looks like someone did a good job of giving you some attention already though."

He waits for her to sit down inside the infirmary, and forces himself to ignore the conflicting feelings that rose inside of him, about having Carson there. He knew nothing whatsoever about this case.

Taking a few supplies, Rick slowly makes sure Jess' cuts are clean, careful not to scare her with sudden moves, and aware enough not to do anything that might make her feel uncomfortable.

Wyatt stands nearby, taking mental notes. "I know this is hard for you, Jess...but we all know it's best if you press charges against the guy who did this. And if you do, which we'll help you with, we need Rick here to have written statements about your condition."

Rick smiles again, taping a small bandage over a wound on Jess' arm. "I just need you to tell me now if you're hurt anywhere else that I can't see."

Carson gives her a little nod, telling her it's okay.


Kyle stuffs a bite of burger into his mouth and grins, shrugging slightly, a twinkle of amusement in his eye.

Chatter and laughter filters through Mike’s house as everyone eats. The group had spent so much time together, it was always more like family than friends.

As the meal draws to a close and all that’s left are drinks and a few potato chips, the real reason for the get together finally has to come.

The table is quiet for several moments until Phil speaks up. “Kyle…Mike, Jason and I have talked a bit and…we feel that with everything that’s happened…we should cancel this weekend’s concert.”

Kyle’s eyebrows shoot up as his heart sinks. Never had JetStream backed out of a commitment in the past. He furrows his brow and shakes his head. He holds up his good hand and waves his fingers, showing that he could still play the keyboard, even if it wasn’t as much.

Phil purses his lips. “Look, we know you can still play a bit, but come on…you need to give yourself a break. You can’t sing…you can’t give it your all…and you’re an important part of the band. We just don’t feel it’s right.”

Kyle can feel his defenses rising, and tries to control himself. He tenses, gritting his teeth.

Jason intervenes. “It’s not just that either… with the Agency after you for some reason, we can’t just let that go. We’re going to have to figure this out before we can move on. It’s been suggested that…we clear the calendar completely until we know everyone is safe.”

Kyle can’t believe he’s hearing those words. Clear the calendar? That meant canceling anything they had on schedule and turning down any new gigs. How could they be suggesting this? And they’d been talking without him? That much was apparent.

He looks from Jason to Mike, to his brother, then to his sister, grasping for help here. But the look on Jen’s face says that she’s been in on those discussions too.

Sitting back in his chair, Kyle is just quiet for several moments. Finally he shakes his head again. Silent words mixed with signs, gestures and whatever else to get his point across, he manages, “I don’t like it. I can still play enough to get by, and we made commitments here. As far as the Agency goes, we have people like Katie watching us.”

Phil sighs deeply. “We know all that, Kyle. But maybe we need to start using our heads on this one. We’re not blaming you for anything it’s just…we think this is best.”

“We need to figure out the whys to all of this,” Jason adds. “Without understanding what’s happening, we’re not going to be able to make it stop.”

Kyle’s stomach lurches. He knew why this was happening, and it was stupid no one else had figured it out yet. He opens his mouth to signal he wants to say something, but the discussion continues around him.

Mike nods. “I hate canceling anything, but I agree that it’s the best choice.”

Again Kyle tries to interrupt but isn’t noticed.

“Besides, without the backup vocals, our sound isn’t as strong anyway,” Phil agrees. “We don’t want to disappoint the audience.”

Kyle raises his hand but once more no one notices since he can’t just interrupt with speech.

Jason nods. “Not to mention our script. We’d have to change everything around and to do that before this weekend would be hard.”

Kyle leans forward trying to catch someone’s eye, growing frustrated that no one was noticing his attempts to interrupt.

Phil shakes his head. “I know some people will be disappointed, but we have to think about us and what’s happening.”

“Agreed.” Mike nods.

“Agreed.” Jason puts in his vote.

Jen nods as well. “I think…”

Kyle’s palm suddenly slams down onto the table hard enough to make plates and glasses rattle. “Do I not count all of a sudden or what?!” His forced raise voice feels as though it’s tearing out the inside of his throat, but he ignores it, his hoarse shouting coming out as a painful sounding rasp. “We can’t do this!”

“Kyle!” Jen looks with disappointment and reprimand at her brother. “Take it easy, and for goodness sake, save your voice.”

“Why should I?” A rare anger blazes in Kyle’s eyes. “You’re not going to let me sing anyway!”

“Just calm down, Kyle,” Phil chides. He was a little embarrassed by his brother’s outburst and tries to settle things down. “Quit acting as though we’re doing this to you on purpose.”

“Aren’t you?” Kyle winces as his own force against his vocal cords brings severe pain, but he keeps going anyway. “You all met behind my back,” he whispers. “You all made up your minds without even talking to me about it.”

“Come on, Kyle,” Jason urges. “You know we weren’t leaving you out on purpose. You have to admit that holding off on things for a while makes sense. At least until we can figure out this Agency stuff.”

Kyle shakes his head. “What is there to figure out? They’re after me. Big whoop. They haven’t taken me down yet.”

“No, but they will,” Jason shoots back. “And until we find out why it is they’re after you all of a sudden, we can’t stop them. So far no one’s gotten killed. Let’s keep it that way.”

Kyle’s jaw sets stubbornly. “We’re playing this weekend.”

Jen’s shoulders drop. Why was her brother taking this so personally? “Please…just let this one go. For your own sake.”

“My own sake?!” Kyle stands up from the table, almost knocking over his chair. He was confused, hurt and frustrated. He knew the answer to the Agency questions, and he had planned on performing despite his injuries. “Well thanks for nothing.” Though hoarse, his sarcasm is evident. “Let’s just all let the Agency win this one so they’re happy too.” Spinning on his heel, he stalks to the door where he goes out onto the porch, letting the screen door fall shut behind him with a bang.

The table is silent. The eyes of the band are down, no one knowing what to say. No one had thought Kyle would buck this, and none of them had seen him this upset in a long time. It just wasn’t like him to get so riled.

Kyle leans his hand on the porch railing, watching the sun set. The evening air was chilly, cooling him down. He knew he shouldn’t have lost his temper….he hated it when he did. It was just…so…frustrating. Swallowing, he realizes just what he might have done to himself with his shouting, but what was done was done, now. He should have just let this whole thing go…he should have just relented and left his pride behind.